AT Continuance

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Old-Salt

Has anyone else seen the latest from Puzzle Palace about continuance for the AT trade. What a load of B******s! I really don't think they understand what's going or how to resolve things. As to what they are offering, nowhere near enough. It would appear that the discussions held recently were a pointless exercise.

Old-Salt

Old-Salt

Latest I've heard is that the guy who did the meetings at D*@+ot and DMK has produced a report in very short order and passed it for comment to Puzzle Palace and DRLC. As far as I can recall it has some interesting recomendations e.g a cash bounty for each period of continuance completed, making AT continuance a special case in that promotion is possible and giving it (continuance that is) in 5 year chunks. How much of this makes it onto this planet will be interesting to see

Old-Salt

Melchers you old f#rt, what a dis-service you do to the "more mature" of the AT world. Send them to the labs you say, why? In days of yore the APBs were where ATs learnt their trade about ammunition and stuff and then later went to places like 11 Ord Bn (EOD) RAOC to put this knowledge to good use. Nowadays the babies come off the AT course knowing not a lot and getting no knowledge or training and attempt to destroy Prac SH shells (which clearly has the blue paint visible!) twice whilst nearly killing innocent civvy dogwalkers. Perhaps a better use of experience would be to leave those ATs who wish to stay in 11 Regt where they are and get the younger element working in the APBs so they can learn about ammunition without fragging civvys! P.S. I'm quite happy to stay in 11 Regt, if they post me to the "lazy K" I will just quit and that would rather defeat the idea of me being on continuance would it not?

ADC

"Nowadays the babies come off the AT course knowing not a lot and getting no knowledge or training and attempt to destroy Prac SH shells (which clearly has the blue paint visible!) twice whilst nearly killing innocent civvy dogwalkers."

Good call, although all 11 Regt do is say they have been very naughty indeed, no co-co for you tonight. Now run along and don't do it again.

Old-Salt

The lack of bedtime cocoa may explain the lack of cojones (look it up in a Spanish dictionary!) in the grown ups who should have; a. given the boy a new anus, b. "Re-educated him, and/or c. remved his badge! There spleen nearly vented.

Old-Salt

It's not just the poor mites who have the misfortune to go straight to 11 Ends On Divorce. Where the learn bugger all about ammunition and promptly forget everything learned on the course. The numbskulls who manage to get promoted to SSgt/Sgt having only ever served in one unit/role don't do the trade any favours. Ok so some of them wear their trousers back to front when they go to get their CR and the words "No Sir you can't do that because it is extemely dangerous and someone is going to get hurt!" obviously don't appear in the vocab of others. It really doesn't equate to balanced experience.
Raise the standard and raise the pay, if AT's of the future can't pass their exams get rid of them and also stop this daft system of promotion. Experience and knowledge are more important than having a long tongue and being able to say "yes sir" and swallow at the sametime.

Sorry, but as you may be able to tell, I feel quite strongly on this matter.

Old-Salt

AT's will be on a 27 yr career, with a possibility of extending to 35 yrs. AT's will get specialist pay. One rate once passed T1 course, followed by an increase once passed RLC No 1 course.

With the above in mind, they no longer have to offer continuance to many people as the 27 yr career sorts most of the manning problem until its caught up.
1st continuance tranch is 14 pers. Being offered 2 yrs only, no promotion, posted where they want you go, and no cash incentive to stay. They have already got 14 volunteers/losers who have agreed to that offer

Old-Salt

27 yr career & specialist pay will be in a formal paper by the end of this week in front of Silver Mop Head. This has also been agreed and rubber stamped by the ATMaCWG. Mop Head then intends to wiz it around the bizarres and get it signed up to by DMA. He forsee's no problems.

As for continuance: A letter has recently been dis't by GC listing everyone who has a ROD in the next 2 yrs. CO's were to ask them if they wanted the current available 2yr package. The replies received have indicated that there is enough "yes's" to fill the 14 financed places (this also includes people currently on continuance who are willing to do a further 2 yrs, they don't have to). There will now be a board at the Magical & Ridiculous Oracle to agree who they will accept. So the end result will be that the package does'nt have to change or any cash reward offered.

The new pension scheme is a completly different animal that individuals have to sign up to if they want to change over. They need a labotomy if they even consider it

Clanker

At the risk of being stabbed in the eyes, the AT world struggles to fill its yearly allocation of Phase 2 trainees. The pass rate for ATs is appalingly low. I really don't know what the answer is, other than to blame the 'educashun' system of today turning out piss poorly educated youfs. Maybe we should extend the course. Making the course easier to pass would just shift the thinning out problem into the field army rather than at the training establishment where the poorer candidates are sifted early.

perhaps a greater number of transferees would go someway to fixing the issue, if proved that transferees are better able by viirtue of their military experience and helpful AEC education/MPC et al courses, to pass the Ph2 training (well, ph3 for a transferee)